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.. was a playful dolphin. Oh Calloo! Callay! dear readers – put out the bunting – today we actually got to sail! And yes, to mark the joyous event, a lone dolphin joined us for a while, playing hide and seek and popping up every now and then to see if we were still game. We were.
Had better explain. As mentioned in an earlier post, we were invited aboard by Colin who runs a sailing school here in Durban, to join one of the school’s courses for the whole of this week as free guests and muckers-in-ers. I think he must have taken pity on us. You won’t be surprised that we leapt at the chance. Anything that gets us afloat while we wait it out for Butterfly to be finished has got to be good news. So from Monday to Friday this week we’ll be shunning terra firma most of the day and getting our poor neglected sealegs back.
The boat was a Lavranos designed, L34 – solid, reliable and a grand old lady now – about 20 years long in her sea tooth. And compared to a FastCat – very, very small. But, according to Neil (Colin’s brother) she’s got a reputation for reliability and for being very forgiving, so ideal for training purposes. Despite very little wind, it was a surprisingly large swell that greeted us outside the marina. The leftovers, perhaps, from Sunday’s low. All sorts of fun and games going on at the port as they’re widening the mouth – so dredgers and wotnot a-plenty. There’s a new signal tower at the port entrance that apparently cost an arm and a leg, but which, according to Neil is not a patch on the old simple structure that it replaced. Must admit, as fancy fallutin’ edifices go, this one is a bit of a Cinderella. Not something to inspire or gladden the heart. And the sector lights aren’t that easy to make out, either – nor, while we’re busy carping, does its much touted wind speed indicator work with any great reliability … allegedly. So a fancy price for a bit of a flop. None of which matters when the sun is shining and you’re out on the water, playing with a boat, and have a dolphin for company. Yay!
Footnote: The picture above is of Durban port – but taken on our last trip out here in early May. No camera with me today, as I’ve been warned off taking such things into Durban – but heck, it feels odd not having one on hand. In truth, I’m getting just a tad hissed off with this constant need to pander to the criminal element. But rather than do without my beloved shooter, I’m thinking of getting an even bigger, heavier one (mine already weighs like a small brick) – so it can double as a personal weapon. Whaddya mean you want to pinch my precious pixelator??? Take THAT! you thieving little blighter … BIFF!
Ha! That’ll larn ‘em!
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